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Foster's rule, also known as the island rule or the island effect, is an ecogeographical rule in evolutionary biology stating that members of a species get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment. For example, it is known that pygmy mammoths evolved from normal mammoths on small islands.
Insular biogeography [1] or island biogeography is a field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities. The theory was originally developed to explain the pattern of the species–area relationship occurring in oceanic islands.
Foster's rule, the island rule, or the island effect states that members of a species get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] The rule was first stated by J. Bristol Foster in 1964 in the journal Nature , in an article titled "The evolution of mammals on islands".
The bottom chart measures the genetic distance between all pairs of populations according to the Fst statistic. Populations separated by greater distance are more dissimilar than those that are geographically close. Isolation by distance (IBD) is a term used to refer to the accrual of local genetic variation under geographically limited ...
Frank W. Preston, an early investigator of the theory of the species–area relationship, divided it into two types: samples (a census of a contiguous habitat that grows in the census area, also called "mainland" species–area relationships), and isolates (a census of discontiguous habitats, such as islands, also called "island" species–area ...
As a result, island ecosystems comprise 30% of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, 50% of marine tropical diversity, and some of the most unusual and rare species. [2] Many species still remain unknown. The diversity of species on islands is highly impacted by human activities such as deforestation and introduction of the exotic species.
Generally speaking, the theory of island biogeography represents a collection of interwoven ideas (Harris 1984), describing patterns of floral and faunal communities on marine islands. It models fundamental processes such as dispersal, diversity and population dynamics of islands with regards to their area and distance from other islands or the ...
The Theory of Island Biogeography is a 1967 book by the ecologist Robert MacArthur and the biologist Edward O. Wilson. [1] It is widely regarded as a seminal work in island biogeography and ecology. The Princeton University Press reprinted the book in 2001 as a part of the "Princeton Landmarks in Biology" series. [1]